Do not underestimate the evils men will do for a small advantage.
Sirzches, the partygoers, and I stared at Diodora and his queen in shock. Someone even dropped their spoonful of pudding, staring, and Diodora, being the piece of shit he was, enjoyed this, reveling in the chaos he had caused. His mostly closed eyes scanned the crowd, so silent you could hear crickets, before they fell on Ajarkan a well-practiced, fake caring smile crossed his face.
"Father! There you are. I have something for you."
Diodora then took a step forward, with his queen a step behind him, as he began walking towards Ajarkan and the still shell-shocked party. The blonde queen behind my uncle, who looked German, gave a massive smile, and I immediately didn't like her either, as she, like him, also wore a very fake mask. Those sea-blue eyes she had were completely soulless, with the only thing in them being an absolute adoration for Diodora as she watched his back. That made a sneer rise, as that wasn't real.
"Not like what I have."
My fist clenched tightly as my wrath grew before I snapped it back under control and got ready to stand to deal with this worm. I was halfway up from my chair when Diodora smiled that ultra-fake but well-practiced smile again and called out to Ajarkan, who had gotten up from his table nearby.
"This party is astonishingly splendid, Father, though it could have been held in a more appropriate place than here, like our castle. Rather than this… interesting place."
My eyes narrowed further as Diodora's words made the nobles here start whispering to each other in glee for the gossip, and I wasn't the only one pissed there. Ajarkan was angry too, and our family smirk was gone as he moved to his younger son.
"This place is just as good as our castle and has things that I am eager to see in our home too. And as for having it here, this is the home of your nephew, Dio. You're supposed to be at the castle studying the family history, as I told you that I would like to commission a new tome for the family this year."
Diodora gave Ajarkan his smile on full blast, now mixed with condescension, as his queen laughed a fake, dainty laugh.
"I finished that work yesterday, as I told you at breakfast. And Father, really? Are you still going on about that elaborate fantasy? Big brother doesn't have a son; he's too busy being locked up in his labs to get out for that. Are you feeling well?"
That sent my wrath over the edge as my blood boiled, and the nobles started eagerly whispering to each other. This fucking shit was trying to destroy Ajarkan's reputation publicly! The black rage rose, making me get up from my seat with Sirzches and growl low.
"My apologies, Lord Lucifer. I must deal with this."
Then, before Sirzches could say anything, I marched across the way towards where Ajarkan and Diodora were. Eyes followed me there, and I heard the eager whispers from the nobles enjoying the circus. Yet I ignored them, as my eyes were fully on the trio, especially the German. The blonde slowly approached my grandfather from the side, oblivious as he stared down at Diodora. My eyes narrowed as I caught the woman making a very well-hidden spell in her right gown sleeve. Diodora smiled at Ajarkan and then loudly said,
"Perhaps you should rest, Father. After all, it is difficult being in your position, I'm sure, and the stress must be getting to you to keep entertaining that idea. Why don't I have Alexia help you home?"
The blonde inched even closer, and that made me move even faster as I passed Rias and the others. Just before the bitch was about to reach out and touch Ajarkan's exposed wrist, I growled.
"Back away, miss. Now."
The blonde froze and took a look at me, then paled significantly and backed up towards her master. That fearful look pleased me deeply, but Diodora wasn't afraid, as the ass kept his smile and looked my way before sniffing.
"And who are you, half-breed, to speak like that to your betters and assume you are worthy enough to stand beside my father?"
The black rage grew there again before I grinned wide.
"Oh, no one important at all. Just your nephew and the confirmed heir to House Astaroth, Uncle."
Behind me, the nobles were leaning in eagerly at this, with some of them looking like Christmas had come early. To a germ's worth of credit, Diodora didn't break his mask of feigned ignorance there, while Ajarkan gave Diodora a pointed look. My asshat of an uncle then looked at me properly before shrugging a second later.
"You are not my nephew halfbreed. My big brother would never sully himself with a human whore. I am the Heir to House Astaroth, not you. Now get out of here quickly before I have you beheaded for impersonating my noble family."
I was beyond ready to punch him in the face and then beat him black and blue despite the others here, yet I held back from this very tempting thing, smiling shark-like, seeing something out of the corner of my eye. If Diodora wanted to fuck around and find out, he was going to regret this.
"Then why don't you ask my father yourself, then, Uncle?"
Diodora narrowed his mostly closed eyes and got ready to speak when Ajuka's voice came from behind me.
"Dio."
I barely held back my shark grin as Diodora froze completely there. His eyes finally opened, and his pupils widened to saucer plates as Ajuka put his hand on my shoulder in support. My dad squeezed me gently before he continued, bored.
"You dishonor my dead wife, Dio, who was indeed a human. And this is indeed my son and your nephew."
Diodora flinched there and took a step back, making me smirk widely. The isolation in the castle must have been thorough for him to be this out of the loop, as Diodora stuttered out.
"Big Brother! I-I-I meant no offense! I just assumed that... that…."
The nobles behind us were now chatting gleefully, but that didn't bother Ajuka, who snorted, cutting the other off.
"That I am married to my labs. Assuming makes an ass out of you and me, Dio. This is my son, and I have no doubts about it in any way. And from what Father has told me, you should be at home and not here."
Diodora was now a mix of pale white and bright red, and I let my smirk out now. My move, however, pissed Diodora off as he recovered and sputtered.
"I assumed nothing! And as for being home, I have been working on the project in the library for months and just wanted some air! He looks nothing like you big brother!"
Barks of laughter came from the nobles behind us at Diodora's words, and I could now see the shit's plan. Cast enough doubts on me at the party and then take Ajarkan away to enhance that view further. It was cunning, and what I'd expect from him. It might have worked too if he was a bit more capable and informed. Yet it was failing miserably, and that made my smirk widen, and Diodora's queen paled significantly and backed up a few steps from me. That really made me happy, but it finally made Diodora snap out of it.
"Don't you dare touch my queen, or I will do something, Nephew!"
Greed laced his voice, making me consider it. Yet I wasn't like that, and I took a step forward.
"I wasn't going to try anything, Uncle. And thanks for finally acknowledging me properly. Now if you will excuse yourself and your Queen from my property, that would be wonderful. As I don't remember inviting either of you."
Delighted gasps went up behind me from the nobles, making louder 'whispers' come, and Diodora's face grew redder before he sputtered out.
"Like I would want to be here!"
Yet he clearly did want to be here as he stood his ground. Clearly wanted what I had greedily. His eyes promised pain and suffering on me, and mine did the same as I thought about his bishop here. Her total fear of him made me grin as I'd make Diodora fear me as badly as Riser had for her. Diodora got ready to say something stupid again, but Ajarken was finally done with this bullshit and moved to Diodora and grabbed his son's shoulder hard.
"Diodora. Come, you can show me the progress on the project. Gregor, can you finish up business here?"
I grinned at Diodora's flinch.
"I can, Grandfather."
Diodora got ready to say something again, but Ajarken's hand squeezed the shit and then pulled him towards the gate quickly. Diodora's Queen, like the loyal lapdog she was, ran after them, and several nobles behind me sighed loudly in disappointment at the scandal ending, and I watched with extra glee. Even though I knew this was just round one with him, I mentally made a note to make a servo skull for him, even as I eyed Geros near the food table and called out.
"Butler, extra food and Astaroth wine for our guests. They deserve the best after all."
My words made many of the nobles cheer up, and Geros gave me a nod before waving to several servants to carry out the order. Wine barrels were rolled out along with more platters of fresh food, and Ajuka gave me another squeeze in the shoulders before letting go. He then went back to the table where Lords Amon and Beleth were sitting, and I collected myself before returning to the party.
I didn't get to finish my discussion with Sirzches as the rest of my evening was spent chatting with various NKF lords, checking in on party supplies with Geros, and getting to dance with my queens a few more times. I was beyond exhausted by all of this, yet I made sure to bid each guest adieu as they stepped through the open gates. Nearly all of them wore beyond-pleased faces and praised me for the party. Lords Amon and Beleth, with their heirs, were the last to leave, though Lord Amon looked at me curiously before speaking in a low voice.
"Heir Astaroth. I noticed as I walked through the streets here that there was a building that looked like a school. If that is the case, then would it be possible for me to send one of my….. children there?"
I give the man a polite smile before shrugging.
"They would be more than welcome in the Arkhan Lan, Lord Amon, though I don't run it. The headmistress of the school will be Sona Sitri. She would be the one to talk to."
Lord Amon frowned only for a moment before he shrugged.
"I see, and shall. My daughter Avi looks up to you, Heir Astaroth, and keeps begging me to introduce her to you. She would very much like to see one of your saw swords up close."
That name sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember how or why, so I just shrugged.
"Maybe one day when I have free time."
Lord Amon took that pledge before he walked away through the thinking crowd of nobles leaving through portals towards where his heir, Lord Beleth, and his son were standing. Then the four of them disappeared into a portal of their own, and I sighed before I saw something out of the corner of my eye. That something was Rias and the rest of the Queens talking to my dad. He was amused by something, and as I made my way to them, I saw Ingvild looking away from Ajuka nervously while holding a sleeping Barkspawn. My dad saw me coming, and his smirk grew a little wider as he spoke when I got nearby.
"I will say nothing about you, Miss Giraud. You seem much more pleasant than the rest of your family. And if my son vouches for you by your relationship with him, I will trust it. Still, if you ever need help with ever going public, you need only ask."
Ingvild blushed, a massive storm there, while the others looked amused and relieved there before she mumbled out.
"I'm not a Princess of theirs. Just their…. Black ram?"
That got a small, genuine laugh from me at how cute that was, calling in the queens I was there. Ingvild blushed even more as I wrapped an arm around her waist.
"It's a black sheep, Ing, but you were very close. And she's right, Dad; there wouldn't be much point in reclaiming it."
Ajuka shrugged at that.
"Perhaps. And perhaps not. This party was good, Alex. The nobles very much enjoyed it and hope that perhaps there will be another one soon."
My frown grew there before Ajuka smirked a bit more. Then he frowned too.
"Didn't Sirzches tell you?"
I gave my dad a bland look before Ajuka sighed.
"Dio. I see."
He gave the queens a look, and Ravel immediately perked up.
"We will get going, Lord Beelzebub."
My betrothed pushed the others toward the house, and soon they were through the hedge maze. Ajuka looked at me, and when we were truly alone, he let some of his true feelings show in distaste.
"The NKF and the GKF are planning on hosting a Rating Game tournament to celebrate the treaty being signed. A rookie tournament open to the many heirs and other pillar members who are either of legal age or are coming of age. Sirzches and the rest of us would like for you to join the tournament."
My heart stopped beating for a moment as I froze. A rookie tournament…. That meant I'd most likely be fighting….. I gulped as I imagined Sairaorg's battle-fanatic face and him in Regulus's lion armor punching me with the power of destruction. Ajuka saw the discomfort on my face and sighed.
"Sirzechs is calling in a favor for this, even though I told him he wouldn't need to use it, as you are our most earnest supporter."
That broke me out of the fear, as that was definitely not normal or necessary. Why was he so? Then my eyes narrowed, remembering the ratings game tourney Issei would have gone through before they hardened, as I realized the game. The Great King had been playing a long game by sending Magdaran here. Smart bastard. Ajuka smirked as he saw I made the connection.
"The GKF was very insistent on this tournament. Sirzches was
very uncomfortable about it and only agreed to it after significant pressure."
I took that information, and an idea popped into my head. Zekrem wanted to play dirty, so I could too; payback was a bitch and a half.
"I'll join the tournament. When does it start?"
Ajuka gave me his signature smirk there.
"In a week, and it will last for the rest of August and early September. Thank you, Alex. I also have this for you."
Ajuka reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a scroll before he handed it to me. I took it, and my dad continued.
"It's information on base names and locations we pried from Galius Leviathan. Do with them what you will. And I will start having the levies from us helping the Legio start heading to your mansion tomorrow afternoon. One of them will be from my levy and they will bring you enough gold to finance your people for finance your people for the next three years easily."
My eyes light up in delight that vengeance was coming for the OSF.
"Rodger. Thanks, Dad. We will start going after these and two other places soon."
Ajuka nods before he puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes gently.
"You did well tonight, Alex. Much better than I did when your grandfather had me run a party. And don't be completely angry at Dio. He isn't so bad as the impression he gave you today makes him seem. Give him a chance."
I held in my scowl as that fuck was much, much worse than what
he showed today. My dad let go of my shoulder and began walking towards the house and the teleporter. The moment he was inside, I pulled out the anvil and made a servo skull; a moment later, Alex entered it and came out in binary.
"I'll go watch that fuck. He was sort of eyeing my waifus, and I saw a nasty bruise peeking out from the queen's dress!"
That put a scowl on me too before I grunted back.
"Thanks. See if you can connect him to the OSF in any way or if he has an Ophis snake. Tonight was just round one between us, and I won't let him surprise me again."
Alex bobbed his skull head, then shot up into the air and floated off. I turned to head into the house when I felt the skull land on my head. I looked up at Alex, who somehow had a sheepish look on the skull's face.
"Uh... Where is the castle?"
I face-palmed hard at our stupidity. Then I started giving him directions to Astaroth Castle.
Fifteen minutes later, I was back on the topside, and almost as soon as I reached the top of the stairs from the basement, I was ambushed by two people. One of whom was a grinning Azazel, and the other was Baraqiel. The latter was glaring at me hard before Azazel gave an ultra-jolly laugh.
"If you glare any harder, Bar, you're going to melt him into the floor, and you can't do that! I still need to study his gear thoroughly! And good evening there, kid!"
I gave Azazel an amused look.
"And good evening to you as well, Governor General. You're here for testing?"
Azazel gave me a quick bob of his head, pulled out a scanner, and eagerly came forward.
"Yes, sir! The scans you gave me are beyond fascinating and I would…"
Baraqiel pushed his way past Azazel and glared at me.
"Tell me why. Why that blasted thing needed to be preserved and not destroyed!"
Wrath was written across Baraqiel's face, and I could feel the barest hints of holy energy forming in his right hand. I raised an eyebrow at him before sighing.
"It's a long story."
Baraqiel glared harder.
"I have all night."
He was dead serious, and I gave him a nod.
"Kitchen then. I can tell you while the Governor General does his tests."
That satisfied Baraqiel. Barely but he did get out of my way as I walked quickly into the kitchen with both fallen behind me. Inside the kitchen, I found Issari and Mittelt at the island, watching something on a cogitator, with Mittelt almost face-planted into the screen and my best friend looking exhausted and troubled. My presence made Mittelt pull back to show that they had been watching Deviltube, specifically Kuroka and Rias's channel. The video showed them playing Co-op on Halo, and I snorted, amused, getting ready to say something. Only to stop at Baraqiel's glare and Azazel's face. That made me pull out the anvil and pick up the hammer before looking at the glaring fallen.
"The truth."
Baraqiel nodded, getting into a chair as Azazel practically ran to my side, scanner ready.
"The truth, Alex. Why did that thing need to be preserved?"
I swung the hammer and made a chainsword for Azazel, whom started scanning before I sighed.
"Because that dragon was not an ordinary one by any means of the word. It was not native to Earth."
My answer made Azazel and especially Baraqiel blink rapidly and
dragged Mittelt, who had returned to watching Halo, back to my direction. Issari sighed, then flicked the video to another as she grumbled.
"I want to see that other game. It looked fun."
Mittelt half-heartedly glared at the chestnut while Baraqiel's eyes now bored into me.
"What do you mean, not native to Earth? Was it from a different dimension like Great Red?"
I willed the chainsword away and made a guardian spear for Azazel, who immediately lit up, taking scans. It was like dangling keys inmfront of a cat, and my shrug for Baraqiel was small.
"No, it wasn't from another dimension. It wasn't native to Earth, period. That dragon was from another part of our galaxy; it was an alien construct, not organic. It was a machine."
That left Baraqiel extremely confused, while Mittelt finally caught on and leaned in closer, curious. Azazel was poking at every inch of the guardian spear, completely absorbed in studying it, before Baraqiel finally grunted.
"Machine. Alien. That means….."
He struggled to find the right way to phrase it, and I made a melta gun before I continued.
"Not of our world and built by an intelligent species that were not humans. A bit of a spoiler for my next episode on my Deviltube channel, since I know you are watching, but this alien dragon was called a C'tan. It was a shard of a being called the Void Dragon, and it needed to be preserved because the true destruction of these beings can cause horrible,horrible things to happen to their destroyers and their destroyer's species. Such as creating a mental disorder that induces someone to start flaying others around them, compelling them to wear said flayed skin as a new cape or cloak over them. And spread the mental disorder to others by their very presence."
Baraqiel froze there at that while Mittelt sweated at that idea. My pawn looked at me, very concerned, and I shrugged. She didn't take comfort in that, and Baraqiel looked angry, ashamed, and mournful as he thought it over with that new information. His square head seemed to lose its shape a bit before I continued.
"Ollanius and Big G knew this. As tempting as destruction is for things like that, sometimes it's better to secure, contain, and protect. Ollanius was and is the greatest of heroes of our world because the Void Dragon could easily have killed every living thing on the planet. I will make sure the world knows one day what he died protecting us all from. The Machine God would take you back in less than a heartbeat, as he knows you fell because you were Ollanius's best friend."
Baraqiel got teary-eyed there as he looked down at the table. He sat there silently, and then Azazel finally pulled himself away from his scans and study of the guardian spear.
"You should take reconciliation, Bar. You were always the most regretful of all of us cadre heads for your fall. I'm considering it, as are many in my cadre, as it would be nice to see Heaven again. Though I would mostly be taking it for the view of a certain angel~."
I snorted there while Mittelt glared at her grandfather from beside Issari. Baraqiel seemed to take heart in that and looked up at Azazel.
"Perhaps I will. Thank you, Alex."
Then, without another word, Baraqiel got up from his seat and walked out of the kitchen toward the basement. I watched him go before asking Azazel as he picked up the melta gun, and I willed the spear away.
"Are many of the fallen in Grigori considering the offer?"
Azazel shrugged, studying the gun.
"Hard to tell. The news that he was dead and then reborn again shocked everyone, as did the offer. The general consensus seems to be wait and see, though a few of Kokabiel's former political allies are trying to spin it as a trap you have set for us and them in vengeance for their support of him. Most of his faction's people are down to their last, most loyal stray exorcists, and even they are now refusing orders, citing your organization's benefits. My faction's cadres are losing exorcists faster now too. I should be mad at you for that."
That got a snort of amusement from me.
"Sorry not sorry. They are wrong about the offer being a
trap."
Azazel sighed at my unapologetic words before he poked the
melta gun's barrel.
"I told them that too, but they believe what they want to believe. By the way, what is that ball the Red Dragon Empress has in her hands? It's extremely well made and looks like it's made of angel glass. By the way, uh... Miss! I'd be happy to help you too in getting Balance Breaker for your gear, as your syncing with the Boosted Gear is amazing and almost as good as Vali's with Divine Dividing."
I blinked. Glass ball? I, along with Mittelt and Baraqiel, jerked our heads to Issari, who was studying said glass ball and looked a little pale, and I frowned.
"Where did you get that Gecko?"
Issari didn't respond and instead looked at the ball more closely, her eyes darting rapidly between the cogitator and the ball. She grew even paler, and that finally made me unsummon the anvil and head over to her with Azazel behind me.
Mittelt looked to her side and then tilted her head. I finally got to the chestnut's side, and I saw she had four tabs open, with three of them on one side of the screen. The other tab was Deviltube, paused and zoomed in on a blurry image of a bunch of gliders. My eyes focused on it, then returned to the issue at hand.
"Gecko. Where did you get that orb?"
Issari didn't answer me again, though her face began taking on a bit of color, and I got ready to push her again when Azazel chirped behind me.
"That picture with that green stuff looks almost exactly like something I have in my treasure vaults near my labs, though mine is more pod-like."
Green? Pod? My eyes went to where Azazel's were, and then I froze. Then, pale as it was on one of the tabs, something very familiar appeared. The Golden Gate Bridge in a massive storm, covered in green crystals that ran up its side and then onto it, with a massive field of crystals beneath it as far as the eye could see. My eyes, almost in slow motion, went to the second piece of art.
It was a special forces individual with dual-wielded machine pistols, its red-tinted helmet showing two beady black eyes. Then my eyes went to the third piece of art and saw….. The same glass orb Issari held in her hand, this time lit with yellow symbols across its surface. My mouth dropped to the floor in shock, then extreme horror, as I realized why Issari had paled. The two of us stared at the screen, and I faintly heard Azazel say:
"Anyway, Miss RDE, I really need to learn your name. I can definitely help you with balance break. You already seem to be halfway there from what my scanner is showing and….. Why are you all paler than Catherine the Great's thighs when I flipped her hoop skirt up for the first time?"
That broke me from the shock as I spun on Azazel, snarling.
"Where did you get that green pod thing!"
Azazel looked at me, not getting my sudden change, and blinked stupidly. That pissed me off royally as I grabbed his suit and snarled with wrath in my eyes.
"Tell me now, king of the crows, or I will pluck your feathers off one by one and dunk you in cold water multiple times!"
Azazel's sweat dropped even harder, and he must have seen
something in my face that scared him as he began talking. A half hour later, I was holding the glass orb, studying it intently, with Issari and Mittelt crowded around me as Azazel finished his tale.
"—And I picked it up and decided to throw it in my vaults since it was such a unique thing to find when you're out drinking with friends, especially in Italy of all places! Now will you explain why the hell you freaked?"
I glared at the orb and then Azazel.
"Because that green thing you picked up, sir, is almost certainly called Tiberium."
Azazel blinked at that, and Issari took her eyes off the Tacitus.
"You said you found it in an Angelic Glass cube next to the Tiber River outside Rome in 1995?"
Azazel looked at Issari.
"I did. An excellent-quality cube, too, as it resisted every attempt I made to cut it open. What the hell is Tiberium—"
I froze hearing that and felt wrath fill me again.
"Don't try to break the cube ever again!"
My snarl made Azazel get ready to protest before I snarled louder.
"Don't try to break it ever again! Tiberium is one of the most toxic mutagenic materials you will ever encounter! It's a fucking virus that turns anything it touches or is inhaled by into more of itself! Starting an almost irreversible cycle until every single thing on the planet becomes it and we are left with a toxic green world! Don't break that cube!"
Azazel flinched hard, and I, knowing him, moved aside and showed the image of the Golden Gate Bridge. The fallen Seraph stared at the image, and it was then that I glared at Issari.
"Where did you get the orb?"
The chestnut looked at the almost certain Tacitus one last time before she looked up.
"I got it at the Nilrem warehouse we raided. It was in the security room, on the table next to the monitors, and it looked interesting, so I grabbed it as my loot. What the hell does it even do? It's not a magical item."
I frowned before eying the Tacitus.
"It's technological, not magical. As for what it is, it's a massive alien repository on everything regarding Tiberium. What spawned the art search?"
Azazel grew extremely interested as he drew closer to us and
gazed at the orb. His hand reached toward it, but Mittelt slapped it away.
"No touchy for you, Gramps."
Azazel pouted, and Issari turned and pointed to the Nod Shadow
team art.
"That. Our main base was attacked about three hours ago by a
decent-sized group of people using similar gliders, helmets, and pistols to this. I had to make a new ward stone for the base because they broke it somehow without magic, and that's why I'm here so late and saw this."
She clicked and pulled the Deviltube tab to full screen, showing a zoomed-in, blurry glider image of a Nod Shadow team from Kuroka and Rias's channel. The video in question was Kuroka playing GDI, trouncing Rias's Nod in multiplayer, and Issari looked at me, worried.
"Gregor-kun. We might be….."
I finished that, now pissed.
"Facing the Brotherhood of Nod."
My eyes went back to the Tacitus, and my fear of the alien was
now stronger than ever, given the Scrin. Azazel quirked his head, staring at the images in utter confusion.
"Brotherhood of Nod? What even are these images and the video thing from?"
I kept looking at the Tacitus, and Mittelt answered.
"It's from a video game, Gramps. Boss, how bad is this Brotherhood, and what sort of aliens made the orb?"
Azazel didn't know what to say, and I grunted.
"Bad. Very, very bad. As for the alien makers of this orb, called the Tacitus, they were never stated. However."
I turned the Tacitus in my hands.
"It will very likely have information about an alien race which is inherently hostile, called the Scrin."
Mittelt and Issari both grew worried, and they returned their eyes to the Tacitus while Azazel kept staring at the images. Finally, I grunt out.
"Governor-General, I need you to get me that cube so I can confirm if the thing inside it is Tiberium or not. If it is Tiberium, then the cube and the Tacitus must be hidden away and never see the light of day."
Azazel frowned at this as I continued.
"Issari-chan, pull Paula and Connor aside tomorrow. You and Paula
are going to be watching YouTube. Tell Connor to start combing the supernatural and regular sides of the world for anything mentioning Nod, any organization using a scorpion as an emblem, and information on a man named Kane. If this is actually the Brotherhood, then we need to be ready for them."
Issari nodded, then looked at the cogitator screen before grunting.
"Will do."
She got ready to leave before I stopped her, moving a handmto my suit pocket and pulling out the scroll.
"Take this too. It's locations and names for OSF bases in Central Asia. Have the Vanguard ready to move this week."
My best friend grabbed the scroll and quickly moved off towards the basement while Azazel finally turned his gaze back to the Tacitus.
"How can you at all be certain of any of this? It's just fiction."
My glare turned to him before Mittelt snarked.
"Because, Gramps, the supernatural world is real even though we are fiction to the humans so it's not a massive stretch here."
Azazel cocked his head there before he nodded.
"Fair, but this is different, Mitt. How can you…"
Mittelt barked, fear rising now.
"I have faith in my King, who wouldn't lie about something like this! Get that damn cube here, or I will tell Pene about that time you slept with her human best friend in the 1960s!"
Azazel flinched there, and he actually looked afraid for once.
"Low blow! I told you that in confidence!"
My pawn glared.
"Then get the cube, and I won't tell her!"
Azazel got ready to protest, and I grunted.
"And I'll explain why I am beyond certain of this belief. It involves a new scientific field that I will make that you can help pioneer with me."
My promise there sharpened Azazel's eyes as the mad scientist appeared.
"There is a whole field that can explain this?!"
I smirked, making a pocket spell and gently placing the Tacitus into it.
"Yes. It involves the same combing string as Dietology does. It's terrifying but something you might enjoy, as it opens up endless
theory-making."
The pocket spell closed, and Azazel grew eager there before he
glanced at the melta gun still in his hands. Then he suddenly tossed it and sprinted toward the front door as a dust cloud formed shouting.
"I'll be back as fast as possible!"
The gun flew up into the air and then came falling towards Mittelt, who flinched and got ready to catch it. Only for me to will it away just as she was about to be hit by it. My pawn blinked at the disappearance and then sighed in relief as I got a smirk there before the revelations of tonight came crashing down on me again.
"Thank you for that. And for believing in me. When I said Nod was bad, I really do mean it. They like to do multiple very, very unethical things, including chemical weapons worse than Kokabiel, intentional harmful genetic mutation, and liberal use of nuclear missiles. If they are here, we might be facing all of that and more magical things mixed in with them."
Mittelt frowned and then blanched at this.
"Fun. Let's hope that they aren't here then. I'll watch the rest of that game tonight. Your cat and redhead finished playing through the whole thing a few days ago. When will you tell the others?"
That question made me consider for a second before sighing.
"I'll tell them in a few days, which reminds me. We will be doing a lot of ratings games in the very near future. Devil politics."
Mittelt looked like she had swallowed a lemon here, and I gave
her an apologetic look. She then stamped her foot and huffed.
"Whatever. I'll be ready. It's still bullshit."
That made me scowl at her.
"It is, but at least you won't likely be punched to death or three by a guy with a jacked body and wielding the power of destruction."
Mittelt blinked before I made my way past her out of the kitchen,
calling over my shoulder.
"Good night. I'll brief everyone sometime tomorrow on the tournament."
With that said, I walked toward the stairs, mad, tired, and frustrated.
My life sucked, but my mind kept returning to the Golden Gate Bridge. And the rest of the Earth if Tiberium ever got loose.
In the warp, two Gods faced each other, one wearing an extremely
distressed face and the other extreme worry. The Machine God eyed the deity beside him and the gorgeous woman with emerald hair the color of freshly watered grass and clothed in a dress of plants also spring green looked at the thoughts of the one her champion and she had hated. The images before her showed a slowly dying Earth, filled with Tiberium, and Gaia's dress of bright colors faded to dead brown, like the many dead deserts of this world that could have been.
The Machine God looked at them too, then sighed.
"I didn't know that was the miracle the system did. But the fact that it is this is something I'm now beyond glad for. Yet the fact that my champion was so vehemently opposed to opening the cube at all, even to study it when it would greatly benefit a possibly now very much needed war machine, shows much about him, yes?"
Gaia didn't speak. Instead, she stared at the near-dead world.
The poisoned air. The dead trees that spread this virus to all corners of the Earth. The clogged, polluted waters filled with crystal. All of it broke something in the Goddess of Nature as she looked away.
"Your champion is still an industrialist. And you're still him who approved of the killing of other deities who would have never hurt the humans."
There was a long pause there.
"But you're both not this alien crystal of death."
Gaia's voice was extremely bitter, reluctantly admitting that. The Machine God didn't gloat before sighing.
"The old him was constrained by his core concept ideas. And even if he wasn't, the Great War showed that many deities and their champions couldn't be trusted not to try to turn on humans. We were both at fault there. But we can both agree that this crystal and our growing, more hostile galaxy trump our and our champions' feud here, yes?"
Gaia didn't say anything there and instead returned to looking at the thoughts of her opposite's champion. They broke that thing in here further as her eyes watched some place called the Amazon Desert. Gaia seemed to deflate and lose her vigor before she reluctantly croaked.
"Agreed. If that thing in the cube is this….. Tiberium. Then I will retract my anger toward him. But how can I ever trust an industrialist to protect nature?"
The Machine God got a small smile.
"Because you and others can judge him personally soon."
Gaia blinked and looked at the other. The Machine God smiled wider as his cybernetic eye whirred.
"I will be stripping the divine viewing protection I put around him soon. My champion will be entering a devil ratings game tournament soon. The sport is gladiatorial, but it also has a strange effect: it brings out the best and worst in its players. It is simulated war, and war strips away all pretenses and masks. Judge him there. You might be surprised by what you see in the Omnissiah."
Gaia, mother of nature and of the world, blinked at that idea for a few moments. Then she narrowed her eyes.
"I shall then."
The sound of a spell hissing as it did its job was barely heard over the sound of breaking furniture in a room further up the hall. A chair was smashed against the wall, and it sent splinters raining down on four very badly beaten, black-and-blue pawns all dressed in nun outfits, lying on the chamber floor in a miserable pile. Diodora picked up a table and broke off a leg of it before he brought it down on another woman in a nun outfit and broke her arm with it. The woman, long used to this sort of abuse, only whimpered quietly before her king threw the leg across the room.
It smashed too, and Diodora screamed something he had been
saying repeatedly for the last few hours.
"Filthy mongrel halfbreed scum! You are not, nor have you ever
been, Heir Astaroth! I am!"
The enraged young man broke off another table leg and slammed
it into the knight and broke her other arm just as violently as the first. The nun this time did cry out in pain, but that just made Diodora whirl on her,screaming.
"Be honored I use you, Kali!"
The knight immediately silenced herself before falling to her knees and crying out.
"I am beyond honored and grateful, my love! I am yours to
use as you see fit!"
That affirmation finally killed most of Diodora's rage, and he started huffing and puffing. His eyes fell on the rest of his peerage, and he was proud to see them looking at him with pure adoration and love. Several of them had bruises from last night, and he got ready to snarl at his newest bishop to get the tears. Only to stop as he remembered she had fled from him.
That made some of the rage return as he had absolutely no
idea where she went, and the Hunter's Guild had no more luck than he did in finding her. He clenched his fist and growled low as he eyed the table again. However, that was soon driven from his mind by the problem ruining his life. His bastard nephew.
His plan had been perfect. Throw enough doubts on him and
remove his father from public life to eventually challenge the halfbreed's claim based on illegitimacy. Yet he hadn't accounted for his older brother. Diodora loved his brother for making House Astaroth one of the most important Pillars in the underworld. Yet he shouldn't have been at a party when he was such a recluse in his labs. That mistake in judgment had cost him dearly, as he expected that this halfbreed was ill-equipped for politics.
Yet he wasn't. That pissed off Diodora, and he realized he had to fix his lack of information and find a new way to challenge him. What would work best, though? That question haunted him before he turned his gaze to the handheld mirror on his dresser. His secret allies would probably know more about his filthy nephew. And he now knew something that might help them too.
Agrat Leviathan was with her cousin Alleria standing beside her in front of her older sister, several cousins, and the rest of their levy commanders in their main base in Kazakhstan, informing her finally of Galius's fuck up. Agrat had done all she could to make sure she'd lessen the blow as much as possible for her sister, but Katerea was almost like a pre-eruption volcano now, so great was her rage. So much so that Agrat could almost see the steam coming out of her ears, and she made her recommendation.
"We should either fortify our remaining bases or withdraw and find new ones. I recommend the latter option as the mongrel halfbreed's people are extremely capable and will—"
That finally sent Katerera over the edge as she slammed her fist into the desk hard, snarling.
"Capable?!! You told me that these 'people' are filthy humans!!!! Humans are barely sentient things that we can easily crush! We will not withdraw from our bases to animals and kill the vermin!"
Katerea's words made the rest of the room's occupants raise
their voices in support of the True Leviathan. Agrat hated them even more in that moment. She looked to her left and took a small amount of glee from the fact that Alleria, who would normally be one of these idiots, was silent and pale. She had listened to the stories the survivors had told them about this Legio Solar and its weapons.
A half hour later, despite Agrat's best efforts, Katerea wouldn't budge from her stance, and orders were given as the meeting broke apart. Agrat walked out of the room with Alleria beside her, still silent and pale, and as the two walked down the hall, the Leviathan cousin finally turned to Agrat and, quietly, like a mouse, got out.
"Lady Agrat… We are in trouble, aren't we?"
Agrat looked at Alleria and shrugged.
"Perhaps. You however heard my sister. Still I will inform the bases second-in-commands that they are to prepare for the worst. And send some of the survivors of Galius's Folly to them to press our view."
That was little comfort to Agrat, though there was a completely unexpected silver lining here. The survivors of Galius's failure had started falling into shell shock and had been more open to the idea that the OSF needed to change to face this. Perhaps they could convince others of their social class. Alleria, however, took no comfort in this, and she shook as she remembered something that had haunted her since hearing it.
"Lady Agrat… This halfbreed has war golems! They sliced up an entire pack of hellhounds and a squad of our people in less than five minutes with their claws!"
Agrat gave her cousin a dark, amused look as she got to feed her lust for science fiction here.
"That isn't a war golem, cousin. That thing is called a robot. It's not a unique idea for him, you know. Humans have been dreaming of them for a while, and they are likely much easier to make than a war golem is."
Alleria trembles at that new information, and she looks at Agrat, even more scared.
"Easier? They have….."
Agrat put a hand on Alleria's shoulder, eager to make at least one of her stupid family understand how bad this could get for them. And get a new member for their faction as she led the other purpletee down the hall.
"I'll show you some of their books, Leria."
Alleria didn't like the smugness in her cousin's voice, just as she didn't like the new and growing nagging idea that humans might actually be a threat to them.
Killian was grouchily walking beside Cardinal Adamo as they moved
through the halls of this base of theirs in the Austrian Alps. Adamo was sullen too, and Killian glared at him half-heartedly. Over the last few days, the Cardinal had had extreme trouble securing test subjects, as the Angels were watching the sanctuaries like hawks, with most of them now having one or two standing guard in the facilities. The key word, however, was most.
The man had managed to find over thirteen isolated facilities and, using his influence, had their occupants shipped here, yet these facilities had produced only a hundred test subjects. Killian stopped her glaring at Adamo and straightened up as the two of them came to a door that Killian opened.
The room inside was dark with the lights off. The only light came from the window, which looked over and down at another room where multiple people prepared for their task as saws and needles were readied. Adamo got ready to turn on the lights before a voice from the darkness came.
"Leave them off, Cinis."
Adamo's hand stood still and then quickly dropped to his side as Killian pushed past the cardinal into the room.
"Sir."
A dark shape slowly detached itself from the far wall before it reached the midpoint, and the light from the windows illuminated a man in a black trench coat with red highlights on the edges of it who looked twenty-nine. His long white hair was done up in a pointed, forward-facing spike, and he wore a slightly pleased look as he eyed the two. Adamo bowed deeply there before saying.
"He who lives in Death."
The white-haired man's pleased look grew before he gave a dismissive wave of his hand. Then his eyes fell on the room below them as the Drs finished things up for the procedure.
"You didn't get as many test subjects as you originally
promised, Cinis."
Adamo flinched, but before he could defend himself, the man
waved his hand again.
"No fault of yours, clearly. This….. Omnissiah has complicated many things, not just Project Rebirth. Still, this project's importance has only become more important given his interference and his weaponry."
No sooner had he finished saying that before the door to the room below them opened as a gurney was pushed into the room by two nurses in black medical gowns. On the gurney was a drugged male exorcist who was missing the bottom half of his left arm, and the doctors, also in black medical gowns, lifted their face masks as the gurney was set in the middle of the room, and one doctor looked up at the window.
Killian scooted closer to her boss, as did Adamo, and the doctor
below looked up and called out.
"Proceed?"
The man pushed an intercom button below the window.
"Proceed."
The Head Doctor turned and then began giving orders to his
subordinates. Doctors and nurses moved, and the Head Doctor grabbed a saw as Adamo frowned.
"Why—"
The saw moved to the top of the mangled arm and began its
grim work, and in less than a minute the limb flopped to the floor as the Head Doctor then reached to another side table and grabbed an extremely crude bionic arm. Adamo frowned at it, and He Who Lives in Death tilted his head.
"That is twenty years' worth of work, Brother Cinis. Brother Raibert assures me that it will get better. Why the face?"
The bionic was fitted into the exorcist's wounded side as the doctors and nurses got to work sealing it to the body. Adamo hesitated for a moment before he spoke.
"The false prophet's— bionics are much more advanced than
that."
The man raised a well-groomed white eyebrow, curious.
"Really?"
No sooner had the word left his mouth and the new arm was fully
integrated than the drugged exorcist suddenly seized up and then suddenly began convulsing violently. Convulsions that grew in ferocity and scale as the black robed medical staff tried to remove the arm and stabilize the subject quickly.
However, by the time the arm was removed and the wound was halfway closed, the convulsions stopped just as suddenly as they had begun, as the man went still and the heart rate monitor screamed.
Adamo started to make excuses as Killian glared at him and moved her hand to her hip, but He Who Lives in Death waved her off.
"The fault is not Cinis's, Killian. The subject was not strong enough to be part of my Marked."
Then he pushed the intercom button.
"Bring the next subject in."
The gurney with the now-dead man was rolled out of the room
as another gurney was rolled in, this time holding a drugged Slav woman missing her right leg. As the gurney passed through the door, above it fluttering slightly hung a black banner. A banner with a red chamfered triangle with a red scorpion tail in the middle pulled back and ready to strike at those who opposed He Who Lives in Death.